Archive for January, 2017

Many of the students that I teach in our programme come with life experiences that leave them with various shades of trauma. This article “A new movement to treat children as sad, not bad” in “The Hechinder Report” tears into the often held perception that bad behaviour should be punished because it does not conform to expected norms. This is an oft believed maxim when rules are set and students are expected to follow them. No matter what. It is all well and fine except that the students themselves do not factor into the equation. It makes for great management of the masses, but doesn’t solve the underlying problems.

The article suggests some great takeaways:

If a student misbehaves, find out why.

We all have bad days, difficult situations – so do students. But not all of them have developed the coping mechanisms as yet.

A caring environment is a safe environment where students do not have to constantly justify their actions.